These picture postcards were issued
by the Jewish Welfare Board for use by returning
United States troops after the end
of the First World War. They were handed
out on the troopships,
and a soldier or sailor
could send an "arrived" message to their loved ones.
While on the ship or still at the dock, the
military men were officially "overseas", so the
cards could be sent without postage. Once the
soldier or sailor entered the US, the cards
required postage.

The Jewish Welfare Board was not the only
welfare organization to provide
free safe-arrival cards for troops, but these cards are unique in that they
depict the actual troopships used to return
the men from Europe. The images were derived from
several sources (some pre-war), and the Copyright messages reflect
that. Perhaps the JWB received special
treatment regarding royalty payments,
since this use was "for the troops".

These web pages are dedicated to providing
information about these picture postcards,
and
other troopship cards. In addition
there is information about
the WW I troopships themselves.
You may have seen a picture postcard of a ship
that may be from this era, but it is not dated.
Here is
a writeup on identifying
possible troopship cards from the WW I era.
I've acquired images of many of these
cards, and own some myself. At this time, I
have few extras, so cannot trade. These
cards show up regularly on eBay auctions.